The present invention is directed to improvements in boats, especially catamarans, more especially catamarans with inflatable hulls, which are easily transported to and from the water, can be conveniently stored at the home in a closet, for example, or out of way place in the garage and can be assembled by one person in one-half hour and easily hold 4 to 8 adults and can be sailed by relative novices. In a preferred embodiment the boat includes large usable deck space (typically 8.times.12 or 96 square feet). The boat is extremely stable for novice users and will sail well in light airs, has a relatively simple design specification so that fabrication coats are low and contemplates the use of off-shelf parts where possible. The boat, without mast and sail can be used as a dive platform, a sun deck in the water, or with a small motor it becomes a pontoon boat for lake or river use. In such configuration a tent, awning, or other type of shelter can be placed on it making a self contained water going camping facility. Each mast section may be filled with foam flotation. The mast is composed of a plurality of telescoping sections which preferably are simply extruded aluminum tubes which have an insert for joining two tubes together with attached sleeves for a tighter fit. The mast stays hold the tubing sections together. A simple mast stepping arrangement utilizes a T-shaped member which is rotatably received on a forward cross bar and receives the telescoping end of the mast which has a pin projection at the lower most end. A rectangular slot in the leg of the T receives a shear pin which passes through a hole in the lower end of the mast. The mast is stepped by pivotting the T-shaped member about a forward cross bar on the frame until the pin in the lower end of the mast slides into a tubular recess formed transversely in the forward cross beam at a predetermined angle, preferably 75 degrees, so that the mast is stepped at a 75 degree angle. A pair of pins is manually passed through a aligned holes in the T-shaped member and the forward cross bar to secure the mast in its stepped position. The mast can easily be lowered by reversing the procedure. The elongated slot allows the mast latching pin to slide therein when the lower pin at the lower end thereof slides into the tubular member in the forward cross bar.
The frame for supporting the trampoline includes fore and aft cross bar sub-frames and a central cross bar sub-frame. For smaller boats, one of the sub-frame assemblies may be eliminated. Longitudinally extending tubular members extend between the fore cross bar and central cross bar sub-frames and a second pair of longitudinally extending tubular members are telescopically received in the end sections of the sub-frames. Each sub-frame includes a cross bar and a laterally spaced pair of semi-circular hull encompassing or arched brackets secured beneath each cross bar and a pair of tubular end pieces for telescopically receiving the longitudinally extending tubular members respectively. The tubular end pieces are secured to the lateral ends of the cross bar and includes locating holes and an orienting slot for the longitudinally extending tubular member and the tubular pieces. It will be appreciated that the tubular end pieces can be cast as "T" shaped members identical to the "T" shaped mast stepping member as described later herein.
The inflatable hulls have sections which extend fore and aft of the rectangular frame so as to assure a smooth pass of the main hull portions into and through the water. A pair of daggerboards are adjustably secured to the central cross bar sub-frame at the lateral ends thereof and a single rudder is pivotally mounted in the center of the aft cross bar. The rudder assembly includes a frame which slidably receives a rudder which preferably is identical to each of the daggerboards so that should one daggerboard or rudder be lost, the catamaran is still sailable and can be safely returned because of the interchangeability of the rudder and daggerboard units. When the mast has been stepped, non-metallic rope stays are secured to the forward end of the longitudinally extending tubular members via rope guide and jam cleat assemblies.
The tubular end pieces on the central cross bar sub-frame are telescopically received on a pair of short tubes (or a pair of the longer longitudinal members may be used for this purpose) with the fore and aft sub-frame assembly being telescopically received pairs of short tubes and locked in position to constitute a collapsed frame so that this collapsed frame can then be inverted and mounted on the car top with three of the semi-circular hull encompassing brackets aligned transversely of the car to serve as a carrier for deflated hulls, trampoline, rudder and daggerboards and sail and other components of the boat.